Phideaux. His unique musical stylings occupy a zone of their own and he\u2019s a pretty productive artist. He is, in fact, so productive that while I was getting settled in the Lone Star State (and therefore not writing for the DV) over the last eight months he sent me TWO new CDs. Phideaux, buddy, this is overachieving a little, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
All joking aside, though, his new-but-one CD Chupacabras<\/i> is worth a long, hard look, and I admit I didn\u2019t review it the first time I heard it because it is an ambitious, iconoclastic work. Chupacabras<\/i> is Phideaux and his usual partners in crime \u2013 Mark Sherkus on piano, Gabriel Moffat on bass and sound textures, Rich Hutchins on drums, Ariel Farber, Valerie Gracious, and Sydney and Devon Moffat on backing vocals, and various other family members and friends of the Bloodfish musical collective — cleaning out their closet, recording a few songs that for one reason or another didn\u2019t make the cut on his first two CDs, Fiendish<\/i> and Ghost Story,<\/i> as well as a few other oddities. It\u2019s hard enough to quantify Phideaux\u2019s normal releases; when you consider that Chupacabras<\/i> is the stuff he thought didn\u2019t fit in with the other stuff, it\u2019s even harder.<\/p>\n
That said \u2013 there are some very tasty moments on Chupacabras<\/i>, and a couple of moments I just couldn\u2019t quite swallow. The bad first: I just cannot warm to the song cycle \u201cRuffian On The Stairs\u201d and \u201cReturn of The Ruffian\u201d. Its harsh sound and disjointed lyrics just don\u2019t do anything for me. <\/p>\n
The good, though\u2026\u201dTitan\u201d is rich, lyrical, layered, and absolutely brilliant, with some intense, incisive lyrics. \u201cSunburnt\u201d is dark and textured, its whispering vocals acting as an eerie counterpoint to the minor-key melody. The twenty-minute \u201cChupacabras\u201d is straight-ahead progressive rock, and Phideaux and company do a wonderful job with it. My favorite by far, though, is the ironic and obsessive \u201cParty,\u201d an incredible collaboration between Phideaux and the truly disturbed-sounding Valerie Gracious — if Phideaux asks you over to his house, I strongly recommend you ask what time you\u2019ll be allowed to leave.<\/p>\n
Is Chupacabras<\/i> a great CD? No, but outtake and extra track CDs rarely are. It is, however, a great look at a truly original artist and has some incredible songs on it. I heartily recommend it. And watch this space for a review of 313<\/i>, Phideaux\u2019s latest studio CD, very soon; I need to get to it before he puts out ANOTHER CD.<\/p>\n